The aorto-ventricular junction

in aortic repair

Emmanuel Lansac, Isabelle Di Centa

Cardiac Surgery

Institut Mutualiste Montsouris,

Paris, France

The surgical correction of aortic insufficiency

by circumclusion

First subvalvular aortic annuloplasty Beating Heart Right thoracotomy

11 patients, rheumatic disease (8/11)

Taylor WJ, et al. JTCVS 1958;35:192-231

Subcommissural plication stitches (Cabrol stitches 1966)

Plicating U stitches at the base

of the interleaflet triangles

= partial subvalvular annuloplasty

Plicating U stitches at the

commissures

= partial supravalvular annuloplasty

Plication of the interleaflet triangles impairing valve dynamics especially for bicuspid valves significant gradient

minimal reduction in aortic annular base diameter

Risk factor for bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valve

repair failure

De Kerchove EJCTS 2012 Aicher Circulation 2011

Useful to protect a commissural repair or as a bailout

technique

Luciani ATS 1999, Lansac EJTCS 2006,

Hanke JTCVS 2008, de Kerchove JTCVS 2010,

Schäfers JTCVS 2013, Navarra EJTCVS 2013,

Aicher JTCVS 2013, Vallabhajosyula ATS 2014

Fattouch ICVTS 2014, De Kerchove EJTCVS 2016

Dilated aortic annulus > 25 - 28 mm

Circumferential aortic annuloplasty

improves the results

(External ring, proximal suture reimplantation, Annular stitch)

De Kerchove JTCVS 2011

0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 960

20

40

60

80

100

6 years

64±15%

95±5%Group 2

p=0.0006

No. at risk

Group 1 53 42 33 27 21 18 15 10 8

Group 2 53 39 29 23 20 14 9 6 2

Group 1

Months

%

SCA

VSR

Risk factor for

failure

Root for all ?

2014 ESC Guidelines on the diagnosis and

treatment of aortic diseases

Evangelista EHJ 2014 Nov

Rate of VSRR remains low over times (15% STS database)

Stamou JTCVS 2015 Caceres EJTCVS 2014

6% of high risk patients

20 % of low risk patients

80 % of Bental procedure are for dystrophic AI

Gaudino JTCVS 2015

+ =

Remodeling

1983 Yacoub

Reimplantation

1992 David

Remodeling +

Aortic annuloplasty 2003

Physiological and standardized approach

to Valve Sparing Root Replacement

STJ

Bierbach EJTCVS 2010

Cusp prolapse

Remodeling /

Reimplantation

Reduction

of the STJ

↓ eH : - 3 to - 4 mm

Shresta EJTCVS 2011 Cusp eH resuspension Soncini. MEP 2009

Marom JTCVS 2012

Reasons for valve sparing failures

Zacek with permission Oka ATS 2011 Kunihara JTCVS 2011

De Paulis 2010 Jeanmart ATS 2007

Symmetrical

prolaspse

Risk factor for

AI recurrence

Reoperation

No eH resupension

(Eye balling repair)

Lansac JTCVS 2010

Schäfers et al., JTCVS 2006

1.Dissection of the subvalvular plane

Inspection of cusp lesions

Geometric height

Retracted if <16 mm in tricuspid

and <19 mm in bicupid Schäfers et al., JTCVS 2013

Standardization based on aortic annulus Ø

Annuloplasty ring = down size from one size

Aortic annular base Ø (Hegar dilators, mm)

25-27 28-30 31-35 36-40 > 40

Valsalva graft® Ø (mm)

Extra aortic ring® Ø (mm) 25 27 29 31 33

26 28 30 32 34

Lansac et al JTCVS 2009

6 subvalvular « U » stitches

Aligment of cusp free edges

prior Remodeling

NC

LC

RC

Remodeling Root repair

3 commissures at same level

Symmetrically at 120°

Cusp resuspension after the Remodeling

(effective height 9 mm)

cH eH

Schäfers et al., JTCVS 2006

Subvalvular ring implantation

Root aneurysms: Bicuspid valves (Sinus Valsalva Ø ≥ 45 mm)

6 subvalvular

« U » stitches Aligment of cusp free edges

2 symmetric

neosinuses Subvalvular aortic annuloplasty

Effective height

measurement Commissures

at 180°

Techniques for aortic annuloplasty

Isolated AI

Izumoto

2002

Haydar

1997

Hahm

2006

Fattouch

2011

Lansac

2003

Schäfers

2009

Need for standardization

Rankin

2011

Frater

1986 Carpentier

1983

Duran

1983

Scharfschwerdt 2011

Mazzitelli ATS 2015

Internal annuloplasty ring

Bicuspid valve 16 patients (43 % with ascending/root aneurysm)

12.5 % reoperation (2 patients) : leaflets tear from

annular suture (Mean FU 9 months)

Mazzitelli EJCTS 2016

Tricuspid valve 65 patients with 62 % root aneurysm.

10.8% reoperation rate (7 patients) at 2 years FU (No KM freedom for reop)

Advantage : place at the nadir

Drawbacks : interference with leaflets

Tension on the suture (internal device)

Aicher JTCVS 2013

Early results with annular support in reconstruction of the bicuspid aortic valve

Improve valve stability

but was a correlated to an increase risk of failure with remodeling (JTCVS 2014)

Do not (yet?) signficantly reduce the risk of reoperation with bicuspid

remodelling root replacment (Schneider JTCVS 2017)

Advantage : fast

Drawbacks : anatomical landmarks?

Safety on multicentric use and long term stability?

Suture Annuloplasty Significantly Improves the Durability

of Isolated Bicuspid Aortic Valve Repair. Schneider Ann Thorax Surg 2017

Fattouch IJTCVS 2014

Functional annulus remodelling using a

prosthetic ring in tricuspid aortic valve repair:

mid-term results

79

52

57

62

Advantage : STJ and annulus stabilisation

Drawbacks : interference with leaflets,

Tension on the suture (internal annuloplasty ring)

Points de plicature

sus et sous-commissuraux

Insuffisance aortique isolée (sinus de Valsalva < 40 mm)

Double annuloplastie

sus et sous-valvulaire

aortique externe

Advantage : safe with clear anatomical landmarks

Drawbacks : Right coronary sinus nadir (reimplantation limit)

Importance of deep dissection of sub valvular plane

6 subvalvular « U »

stitches Aligment of cusp free edges

Placement of the open subvalvular ring

below the coronaries

Cusp resuspension

(effective height ≥9 mm)

Final aspect

Double annuloplasty

For Isolated aortic valve repair (all diameters ≤ 40 mm)

Standardization based on

aortic annulus Ø

Aortic ring = down size from one size

Aortic annular base Ø (Hegar dilators, mm)

25-27 28-30 31-35 36-40 > 40

STJ ring Ø (mm)

Extra aortic ring® Ø (mm) 25 27 29 31 33

25 27 29 31 33

90.5 %

100 %

97.5 %

Lansac et al EJTCS sept 2016

External annuloplasty ring 232 patients (2003 -2015)

Since 2007, calibrated annuloplasty and systematic cusp

effective height assessment improve

freedom from reoperation up to 98.9%

92% Freedom from reoperation at 7 years similar among each phenotype

with no difference between bicuspid and tricuspide valve

Isolated AI repair+open aortic ring Single or double annuloplasty?

Additional ring at STJ level (double sub and supra-valvular annuloplasty)

tend to reduce recurrent of AI

when compared to single subvalvular annuloplasty

Lansac et al EJTCS sept 2016

press

97.4 % Freedom from reoperation at 7 years

Supra-

coronary

aneurysm

Isolated AI Aortic root

aneurysm

Valsalva<40 mm all Ø < 40 mm Valsalva ≥45 mm

Supra-coronary

graft

aortic

annuloplasty (annulus> 25 mm)

Remodeling

Pliable bicuspid and tricuspid valves

Standardized approach according to phenotypes

Resuspension of cusp

effective height

Cusp repair

External aortic annuloplasty

+ aortic

annuloplasty

+ aortic

annuloplasty (annulus > 25 mm)

+

Alignment of the cusp

free edges

STJ

annuloplasty

Open Prospective International Multicenter Registry

Open to all center, Join us!

AVIATOR@HeartValveSociety.org

Surgical Registry Aortic valve Repair / sparing and Replacement

Medical Registry (In process)

Isolated AI and/or ascending aorta aneurysm

Candidates for Aortic valve repair / sparing

Surgical indication

Yes No

Evaluation of the Guidelines Evaluation of the results